The little lip looked to be as pliable as the vane.. and not easily torn off. The vanes were pretty pliable. These vanes can be fletched completely straight and still have have just as much spin as a helical vane/feather. The more you offset them.. the more they spin (duh!)... Therefor these vanes would eliminated fletching contact problems that people have using full helical setups. Might even make drop aways obsolete, ect.. People using wisker biscuit style rests would have several of their issues eliminated also. I see lots of benefits to these w/ very few draw backs. I can't wait to give them a try.